We were very lucky to have an apartment waiting for us here in Bogota. It is 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (only showers), a living/dining room, kitchen and about700 sq. ft. There is a washing machine but no dryer and a small fridge.
Our first bit of excitement came with the laundry. I found out that it is not fun to wash socks when you have hang them dry! The kitchen is long and very narrow, with a window at the far end. On the left are the cabinets and stainless steel counter top. On the right is a cabinet that used to house the electric water heater, but is now empty, then the fridge, then the small washer, about 3 ft. of space which now houses the cat litter, then a scrub sink. Above the scrub sink and the space is a 4 ft. x 3 ft aluminum construction hanging from the ceiling on which to hang the laundry. There are rods at each end and then parallel rods at various intervals to hang the clothes over. You really wouldn’t think it so bad until you realize what the weather is like in Bogota. Jeans take up to 2 days to dry and they still aren’t really fully dry!
But anyway, the excitement. As I said, the heater is gone. Apartments are going to those gas heaters that only heat the water when you need it. They are starting to advertise them in the states…Renai is importing them. When the hot water is turned on somewhere in the apartment, the flame kicks on and heats the water. Well, the laundry hangs right in front of the water heater which hangs on the wall above that empty space. Well, you guessed it. The first time one of us used the shower one of Andrew’s t-shirts was a bit too close to the heater. I did realize it before it caught fire, but it was really warm. Actually though, I did learn a good lesson….clothes dry faster in the morning while everyone is taking showers!
We also had some fun with the stove. Maria Jose who owns the apartment had shown me how to use it, but I hadn’t paid very good attention. You have to turn on the main gas line below the counter, which I did. I then went to light one of the burners with the push button spark thing and all four burners lit up with various levels of flames. Scared the u no what out of me! The area around the little knobs all had a mark for off, but none of the marks on the knobs actually line up when they are really off! After I figured that out we were fine. I am not looking forward to trying out the stove!
The apartment is furnished. The living room is beautiful. There is a big window overlooking a playground/park across the street. We are on the 5th floor so there is a little view. But we face west and the mountains run N/S on the east side of the city. There is a blue couch under the window, a blue wing back chair, coffee table and some built in bookshelves. Also in this area is a dining table with 4 chairs and a floor to ceiling glass area with door out to a very small balcony, just big enough to sit one of those plastic patio chairs. (about 3×3 ft.). The kids each have a twin bed, but I am going to have to buy Andrew another mattress. They are just mattresses that are basically a thick piece of foam. Kirsten is fine with it, but Andrew is not. Overall, the furniture is really nice, I am very thankful we don’t have to go and buy furniture!
All of the woodwork is very different. It basically looks like unfinished pine and all of the doors are put together with horizontal slats. You can actually see light through the front door during the day. It gives the place a very caribbean feel.
Living here is very economical. The rent is 1,000,000 pesos/ month, the apartment fee is 150,000 pesos per month and I was told the utilities, phone, internet, etc. are about 400,000 per month. It is a little under 2000 pesos to the dollar just now, which makes everything around $800 per month. We are also going to have someone come in to clean, do laundry and start dinner for about $12 – $18 per day.
I mentioned the weather…it is cold here! You think South America and of course it must be really warm? NOT! The average high temp is really only 70 degrees F all year round and it goes down to the low 50’s at night, sometimes high 40’s. But it never freezes. Because of the temperate climate, the apartments do not have ac or heat. If you want heat you buy a space heater. There are a few blankets on my bed, but it is taking a bit to get used to. Layers is the key. It also rains a good bit, there are often clouds on the mountains and a light shower in the afternoon. But when the sun shines, it does heat up. Because Bogota is at 8500 ft. (yes, you read correctly) you really need sunscreen all the time. I found that out today, I can feel the sunburn on my face!
We are living in the northern part of Bogota. The southern part of the city is very poor and very dangerous. The government assigns a number 1-6 to areas of the city to indicate income levels. Southern Bogota is a 1, the school is located in a 5 area. We are living in a 4. Your utility prices are based on this number. If you live in a 4 you pay exactly what you use. If you live in a 5 or 6 you pay a percentage more in order to subsidize the cost for the zones 1-3. In zone 1 you find unpaved roads, houses built as the people can afford the bricks, extremely low income….under $150 per month. Many of the people who live in these areas are essentially refugees, people who have fled the guerilla fighters and civil war in the country. In zone 4 you find doctors, lawyers and other professional people as well as service industry owners. From what I have seen it is the lowest end of the safe areas to live.
Bogota is a city of over 8 million people, it is very crowded. The area we live in is entirely high rise (5-8 story) apartments for miles around. The streets are very crowded with taxis and automobiles and private buses as well as the occasional horse drawn wooden cart that is used by the very poor to collect recyclables. A few years ago the Colombian government built a modern bus system called the trans-millenial. They have lanes in the centers of the large roads that are completely dedicated to these buses. You cross via pedestrian bridges to the median of the highway. One trip on the TM is 1400 pesos. Once you go through the turnstile you can change buses until you arrive at your destination just about anywhere in the city without paying again. These buses actually often have 2 lanes in each direction which allows express buses to bypass the local ones that are stopped at a station. It is a very efficient system, for the most part safe, and relatively cheap (I say relatively because to me it is cheap, but on $100 per month it is not!) On the other hand, if all three of us go somewhere it is almost cheaper for a taxi. The taxi to the Exito (like Wal-mart) about 1.5 miles away was 2800 pesos. It is amazing how cheap some things are and how expensive others are. This is probably due to the wide disparity in income.
As I think of more to tell you about the city, I will. If there is anything you’d like to know, please just ask!
